As shorter vacations have become increasingly popular in recent years, many travelers prefer to make city breaks in various destinations across Europe. Of course, expenses play the central role here as no one wants to run out of budget for a three- or four-day vacation. ECA International did the math for us and now offers its list of the most popular European city break locations.
The report uses the average four-star hotel price in different European cities. According to this data, hotels in Riga are the best choice for all tourists who want to spend a short city break. Latvia’s capital city has the cheapest four-star hotels that cost only US$127 a night on average. Tourists who are ready to spend a lot on their city break can head to the most expensive city in Europe the capital of Switzerland. Hotels in Geneva are really expensive one night in a four-star hotel costs US$377 on average.
Of course, Europe has many charming and more affordable cities that are worth visiting. For example, a night in a hotel in Zagreb (Croatia) costs roughly US$136. The capital of Portugal, Lisbon, is also one of the most affordable European capitals, and that makes it a perfect destination for a city break. One night in a four-star hotel in Lisbon costs US$153 on average. Malta hotels ask US$142 per night. It would also be a mistake not to mention such popular destinations as Budapest and Prague. These European capitals are a very popular choice for short city breaks, and relatively cheap hotels (USD$172) are one of the reasons for that.
If you are planning to visit Scandinavian cities, prepare to higher prices as they are among the most expensive in Europe. Reykjavik hotels, Iceland, posted some of the biggest increases in Europe, rising from US$40 a night to fantastic US$307. This makes hotels in the capital of Iceland even more expensive than hotels in Copenhagen and Stockholm (US$266 and US$230 respectively). Four-star hotels in Oslo, the capital of Norway, cost US$266 on average.
Reykjavik hotels have the biggest increase in price in Europe due to the skyrocketing popularity of Iceland with both leisure and business tourists and, therefore, lack of hotel supply to meet this growing demand. Meanwhile, hotels in such traditional destinations in Europe as Paris and London remain expensive. Travelers have to pay US$362 and US$324 per night respectively to stay in these getaway capitals. Dublin is a much more affordable destination with 4-star Dublin hotels asking US$195 per night.